English Translation of Red Poppies From the Perspective of Translator’s Subjectivity

Shan LÜ, Changbao LI

Abstract


Based on the perspective of translator’s subjectivity and with the help of text analysis software, this paper attempts to study the English translation of Red Poppies from three aspects: passivity, subjective dynamics and purposefulness. Through the research, the following conclusions are drawn: Although Goldblatt exerts his initiative in the process of translation, he is also restricted by ideology, poetics and patronage, which reflects the passivity of the translator. In addition, Goldblatt’s translation also shows his purposefulness, which is helping readers understand the source text, and making the translation readable and acceptable. In short, through the analysis, it is found that as a translator, Goldblatt embodies a strong translator’s subjectivity in the translation process.


Keywords


Translator’s subjectivity; Red Poppies; English translation

Full Text:

PDF

References


Baker, M. (2000). Towards a methodology for investigating the style of a literary translator. Target, 2, 241-266.

Bassnett, S., & Lefevere, A. (1990). Translation, history and culture. London & New York: Pinter.

Chen, X. D. (2016). The enlightenment of Goldblatt’s “Rewriting” to Chinese literature’s “Going out” from the perspective of manipulation theory. Journal of Qiqihar University, 2016(3), 134-137.

Fang, M. Z. (2003). A dictionary of translation studies. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.

Goldblatt, H. (2002, April 28). The writing life. Washington Post.

Gu, F. (2021). The pragmatic orientation of modal verbs in English translation of A Dream of Red Mansions: A case study of Huo’s and Yang’s translations. Journal of Chongqing Jiaotong University, 2021(1), 104-110.

Guo, J. Z. (2000). Contemporary American translation theory. Wuhan: Hubei Education Press.

Halliday, M. A. K. (2004). An introduction to functional grammar. London: Hodder Arnold.

He, X. Y. (2023). English translation of culture-loaded words from the perspective of domestication and foreignization. Nanjing: Nanjing University.

Huang, B. R., & Liao, X. D. (2002). Modern Chinese Volume II. Beijing: Higher Education Press.

Lefevere, A. (1998). Translation practice(s) and the circulation of cultural capital: Some Aeneids in English. In S. Bassnett & A. Lefevere (Eds.), Constructing cultures: Essays on literary translation (pp. 41-56). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Lefevere, A. (2004). Translation, rewriting and the manipulation of literary fame. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.

Lefevere, A. (2010). Translation/history/culture: A sourcebook. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.

Li, C. B., & Huang, J. Z. (2015). A comparative study between self-translation and conventional translation of Eileen Chang’s Gui Hua Zheng Ah Xiao Bei Qiu from perspective of translator’s subjectivity. Journal of Beijing International Studies University, 2015(4), 29-38.

Lian, S. N. (1993). Comparative study of English and Chinese. Beijing: Higher Education Press.

Liao, Q. Y. (2000). Corpora and translation studies. Foreign Language Teaching and Research, 2000(5), 380-384.

Liu, H. H. (2023). A study on the English translation of Chang Hen Ge from the perspective of translator’s subjectivity. Chengdu: Xihua University.

Liu, J. P. (2008). The four dimensions and characteristics of translator’s subjectivity from the interdisciplinary perspective. Foreign Languages and Foreign Language Teaching, 2008(8), 53.

Munday, J. (2008). Introducing translation studies: Theories and applications. London & New York: Routledge.

Nida, E. A. (1982). Translating meaning. California: English Language Institute.

Nord, C. (2001). Translating as a purposeful activity: Functionalist approaches explained. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.

Olohan, M. (2004). Introducing corpora in translation studies. New York: Routledge.

Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G., & Svartvik, J. (1985). A comprehensive grammar of the English language. London: Longman.

Scott, M. (2004). The Wordsmith Tools. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Vermeer, H. J. (1987). What does it mean to translate? Indian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 13(2), 29-37.

Vermeer, H. J. (2000). Skopos and commission in translational action. In L. Venuti (Ed.), The translation studies reader (pp. 221-232). London & New York: Routledge.

Wan, L. (2011). Translator’s subjectivity analysis: From Nida’s “Functional Equivalence” theory to Lefevere’s rewriting theory. Journal of Northeast Normal University, 2011(3), 260-261.

Wang, Z. L., & Ma, Y. (2010). The multi-dimensional construction and game of translator’s subjectivity. Foreign Language Teaching, 2010(5), 107-110.

Wei, B. L. (2005). Quantitative orientation of modal verbs. Foreign Languages Research, 2005(4), 56-59.

Xia, G. Q. (2004). The connotation and expression of translator’s subjectivity. Journal of Guizhou University of Technology, 2004(4), 89-92.

Xiao, W. Q. (2005). Self-built corpora and translation criticism. Foreign Languages Research, 2005(4), 60-65.

Zha, M. J., & Tian, Y. (2003). On translator’s subjectivity—Starting from the marginalization of translator’s cultural status. Chinese Translators Journal, 2003(1), 20-23.

Zhang, W. (2018). The manipulation of translators by ideology and patronage: A case study of Goldblatt’s translation. Translation Research and Teaching, 2018(2), 134-140.

Zhu, D. X. (1982). Grammar finder. Beijing: Commercial Press.

Zhu, Y. G. (2004). A comparison of Lin Shu’s and Pound’s translation activities from the perspective of cultural school. Journal of Tianjin Foreign Languages University, 2004(2), 59-62.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/13339

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2024 Higher Education of Social Science

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Share us to:   

Reminder

  • How to do online submission to another Journal?
  • If you have already registered in Journal A, then how can you submit another article to Journal B? It takes two steps to make it happen:

1. Register yourself in Journal B as an Author

  • Find the journal you want to submit to in CATEGORIES, click on “VIEW JOURNAL”, “Online Submissions”, “GO TO LOGIN” and “Edit My Profile”. Check “Author” on the “Edit Profile” page, then “Save”.

2. Submission

  • Go to “User Home”, and click on “Author” under the name of Journal B. You may start a New Submission by clicking on “CLICK HERE”.


We only use three mailboxes as follows to deal with issues about paper acceptance, payment and submission of electronic versions of our journals to databases:
caooc@hotmail.com; hess@cscanada.net; hess@cscanada.org

 Articles published in Higher Education of Social Science are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY).

HIGHER EDUCATION OF SOCIAL SCIENCE Editorial Office

Address: 1055 Rue Lucien-L'Allier, Unit #772, Montreal, QC H3G 3C4, Canada.
Telephone: 1-514-558 6138 
Website: Http://www.cscanada.net Http://www.cscanada.org 
E-mail: caooc@hotmail.com; office@cscanada.net

Copyright © 2010 Canadian Research & Development Center of Sciences and Cultures